1946 CJ-2A Slightly Above Stock

[JoeyD]

GM, I understand what you mean and the swing has been crazy. I have had a battery in my daily driver crap out in less than 6 months here for no apparent reason.

Bm I am sure that would be very bad. And it does seem that the motor turns freely just seems like it is trying too hard when you turn the key. As far a voltage issue I am putting a pic on here because I have noticed something peculiar and worrisome. The negative ground is attached to the alternator bracket mounted to the front of the block. It seems to get real hot and has melted some of the sheathing around the cable. Is this the normal place to put it? Or did someone just wing it?20210207_145144.jpg

[bmorgil]

GM, I understand what you mean and the swing has been crazy. I have had a battery in my daily driver crap out in less than 6 months here for no apparent reason.

Bm I am sure that would be very bad. And it does seem that the motor turns freely just seems like it is trying too hard when you turn the key. As far a voltage issue I am putting a pic on here because I have noticed something peculiar and worrisome. The negative ground is attached to the alternator bracket mounted to the front of the block. It seems to get real hot and has melted some of the sheathing around the cable. Is this the normal place to put it? Or did someone just wing it?20210207_145144.jpg

No signs of melting or heat should be anywhere in your electrical system. You have found a source of current loss. It needs to be fixed. I am sure that is a good part of the problem. Red hot wires are the definition of current draw. There is some "Winging" going on but I am not sure for what. The wires taped up and stuck under the clamp nut on the battery terminals are not stock. It looks like you have a few things tapped into the electrical system. I would start by following gm's line of thinking. Start looking for voltage loss. As gm said if all is good pull the starter and have it checked at the auto parts store. Remember a battery can read fully charged (Voltage reading) and have zero amperage capability. This is why they must be checked under load. Just a voltage check at the battery has fooled a lot of people. Maybe LarrBeard can school us on "surface charge" here, if he see's this.

Put a voltmeter on the starter from the positive wire connection to ground. It should be exactly the same as the voltage at the Positive battery post. Crank the motor and see what the voltage drops to. If the voltage drops below 9 or 10 volts at the starter that's too low. Check it at the battery terminals while cranking. If it drops below 9 or 10 volts, the battery has lost its amp-pacity. If it is higher at the Battery while cranking than it is at the starter by more than .2 (point two) volts. You have a wiring issue. If all seems good and the battery is checking OK at the auto parts store, you probably have a bad starter. You really need to use an inductive ammeter to check the starter on the car but, if you have made these checks and the starter is getting hot, it is suspect. Keep after it Joey!